A Christmas Digi Date
by lordtrayus
Summary: On the day of Matt's concert, both Matt and Sora are wondering about the person they would like to spend it with, and also how it will affect the one who loses out. What will be stronger, love or friendship? An expansion of A Very Digi Christmas


**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon**

A Christmas Digi Date

"That was fun Sora. Can we bake again later?"

Sora smiled down at her little Digimon companion. The younger kids had brought all the original Digimon to their partners as a Christmas gift, and now Biyomon was helping Sora bake a batch of cookies. However, Sora hadn't had the heart to tell her why she was baking the cookies.

The cookies were actually a gift for Matt. When they had first went to the Digital World three years previously, she had thought he was a little odd, the way he switched from the extreme of being unphased by anything to how quickly he got protective of TK. He had always been clad in a green tank top, accenting his muscles, she recalled fondly, and his hair, while Tai poked fun at it, she thought it was quite attractive.

But as time had gone on during their adventure, the little flutter of excitement she had felt when she had first met him had vanished, and the two of them had settled into becoming friends. At least, that was until DemiDevimon started floating around, doing Myotismon's dirty work. Sora had had a crisis of confidence, believing that her crest of love would never glow. When she had started to cry, Tai had been clueless. But Matt had just let her do it, accepting that she needed to cry, and had treated her like an adult would have. Sora had to admit she was impressed when that happened. The next day, after their harrowing escape from Myotismon, during which Biyomon first digivolved to Garudamon after her crest had glowed, Matt had asked her for a private word while the others packed up camp.

"_Are you ok?" he had asked, his eyes not meeting hers._

"_Yeah. Thanks for keeping Tai off my back yesterday...I just needed to vent." She said with a smile, and he met her eyes and smiled a little._

"_You're welcome. I know what it's like when you just want to vent...that's why I play my harmonica. And it just gets worse when Tai's around." He said, grinning at the cheap shot at his friend._

_Sora giggled._

"_Yeah. He can be a bit full on at times. And thanks...for believing in me." she said, looking at him with a bit of shyness_

"_You're welcome. Sora, you're the most loving person I've ever met. You deserve to have the crest of love." he said firmly._

_Sora then wrapped him in a hug, and after a few seconds she was surprised to feel him hug back, if awkwardly. _

"_Thanks Matt." She said, smiling at him._

"_You're welcome." He said, grinning at her._

_And it was then that Sora began to notice him for more than his looks and his odd mood alterations._

However, after that she had kept her thoughts to minimum. She thought her interest in him was purely physical, and after seeing his toned body the night Devimon attacked, who could blame her? But as time had gone on and that had diminished, and she considered him nothing more than a friend.

But, during their war against the Dark Masters, when she had fallen into the deep dark pit of depression, Matt saved her. Yeah, Joe, ever faithful and reliable Joe, had been with him, but it was Matt she always remembered. After the war was over and they had come back from the Digital World, the two of them had had a long talk about what had happened in the cave. The two of them could talk together, and aside from TK, Tai and Gabumon, she was the only one Matt would talk about his feelings with.

But then they hadn't seen as much of each other, all of them drawing apart in between the war with the Dark Masters and the discovery of the Digimon Emperor. But then, one day when Sora was playing a tennis match he had just come to watch, to get away from the pressures of being the leader of a popular teenage rock band, and he had even managed to ditch his twittering fan club. He had just come to watch her, the only one who had that day, and when she finished her game and saw him sitting there, her heart skipped.

He'd gotten taller, his hair was longer and not nearly as messy, his eyes were still the beautiful greyish blue they had always been, and he was clad in a leather jacket that complimented him perfectly. The two had spent the entire day catching up, both relaxing and enjoying each other's company. They still liked hanging out together, and every time she saw him, she knew with more and more certainty: she was falling in love with him piece by piece.

He wasn't only very good looking, he was kind, calm, strong, funny, and loyal. When TK and Kari had first told them all about the Digimon Emperor, he had obviously been concerned, and he had been the one to go with Tai to go and rescue Agumon from Ken's clutches. And Sora saw him at other times, like when he hung out with her, Tai and Izzy, or when he did stuff with TK, and she saw something he rarely let other people see, particularly his fans: that underneath the hard, tough rock star exterior, he was actually just the same as everyone else, perhaps even more so, in the fact that he just wanted to be accepted and loved.

And so, here she was: taking a risk and going to tell him how she felt about him. She knew it was crazy to consider that because he had never expressed an interest in her, not the way Tai had. But little things...the way he would always look at her when she was speaking. The way he smiled at her, a special smile from the stick on one he gave all his screaming female fans. The way he would go that extra little bit just to walk her home after a night out. The way he acted when he was around her, much more relaxed than he normally was.

Sora didn't know what she was doing. All she knew was that she was in love with Matt. She knew it wasn't just a crush. She kept having dreams of her and him spending long hours together, of the two of them just sitting and talking, of him holding her to him...all the little things in a relationship. But then again, there were the other ones...when he kissed her, or other stuff, and she always woke up with a satisfied smirk on her face after _those _dreams.

All she knew was she falling hopelessly in love with him, and she couldn't bear the thought of him not knowing any longer. So, this was her chance.

Taking a deep breath, she went to get ready for the concert.

XX

Matt was staring off into space as he got ready for the concert. He had to admit, he was nervous. More nervous than he usually was. Not because of the concert in and of itself. But because of who would be there.

Not the fans, not his friends, not even Gabumon...Gabumon had always liked his music anyway, and the fact that one of the songs tonight was one Matt had written about him (not that his audiences knew this, they thought it was something symbolic), would probably make his companion quite happy.

Well the problem was one, if not two of his friends. Sora was the main problem.

At first, when they had first gone to the Digital World and had gone on their first adventure, he had thought of her as just another girl. A cool girl, but a girl nonetheless. But then, he started watching her with TK, acting as a sort of surrogate sister, and he started thinking about her more. She was beautiful, that much was apparent, with her shoulder length auburn hair, her big, warm beautiful brown eyes, she was slim, soft skin... he had seen that much when Devimon and Kokatrimon had attacked.

But at the time he had just passed it off as him being affectionate to her because she was being nice to his little brother. But then, as time went on, she treated him like an equal, like a peer, someone to be respected, and his affection for her grew. He had comforted her and had kept Tai off her back when she had her mini breakdown about her crest never glowing. And then he had been the one to find her, save her from her depression, just as Gabumon saved him, and he began to wonder if they weren't all that alike.

But after they had defeated Apocalymon the two had drifted apart. Fair enough, they had all pulled slightly apart, and during that time Matt hadn't seen as much of his friends as he would have liked to, or even of TK for that matter. But one morning, after a particularly dull practice that he called off to get away from Davis' annoying sister Jun (even more annoying than him if that was possible), he had found himself at the tennis courts and had seen Sora playing, so had decided to stay and watch his friend. He had stayed, and had been impressed by how good she was. After all, she had been the one who used to encourage playing soccer with Tai, and here she was, playing tennis and being very good at it. After her match, which he had quite a good vantage point for, (both for seeing her skill and also admiring her other assets), the two had caught up and had continued to hang up when Matt could, when he wasn't practicing with his band. And when he did hang around with her, he found himself wishing he didn't have to leave, wanting to spend more time with her, making excuses to himself just to see her at school.

Every time he saw her, something changed in him, and he knew she could affect him in different ways. At nights he would dream about her, him being with her, spending time with her, kissing her, the two of them spending hours together at a time...and then his dreams would change.

To the other problem he had. His best friend. Tai.

In those dreams, Tai would hit him. Or the look of betrayal would break Matt's heart. Because it wasn't as simple as Matt just liking Sora. What had held him back from him asking her out was the fact that Tai also was attracted to Sora, and always had been. During their first trip to the Digital World, it had been quite clear that Tai was looking at Sora as more than a friend. He clearly had feelings for her, and as Tai had seen more of Sora recently than Matt had he had much more of an opportunity to make good on those feelings.

Matt hated to admit it, but he was actually jealous of Tai being so close to Sora. And he was also jealous of how he had seen more of her than he had. It was madness, what he was feeling. He couldn't stop thinking about her, and those dreams of them being together seemed really good...

Matt looked in the mirror and put his long blond hair behind his ear and sighed. When he really thought about it, really really thought about it...he wanted to be with Sora. He could imagine himself being with her, kissing her... None of his fans interested him, but Sora attracted him in ways they never could.

It wasn't just because of their shared Digidestined history, or the fact that the two had a very deep understanding that Tai would never reach with either of them. It was just that Sora was different from all the other girls, sassy, smart, and interested in a lot more than his pop star image.

Matt sighed, earning him a questioning look from Gabumon. Matt had never been really good at expressing his feelings, and only Sora and TK could really tell when Matt was really down and needed someone to talk to, occasionally with help from Tai and perhaps Joe if he was around.

"What's wrong Matt?" he asked curiously.

Matt looked at his faithful companion. How could he tell Gabumon he...oh let's face it, was in love with Sora? Would Gabumon understand why Matt was so conflicted?

The reason he was so conflicted was because that while he loved Sora, he also didn't want to betray Tai. He knew that Tai liked Sora, liked her a lot. And he was Matt's best friend. Even though they fought like dogs sometimes, he was the best friend Matt had ever had. And since their adventure to save the Digital World, they had moved closer than friends and were more sort of brothers, not like he and TK were, but brothers all the same. If he asked Sora out, it would be stabbing Tai in the back, and as much as he was in love with Sora he most definitely didn't want to lose Tai as a friend. They had agreed after Tai had nearly gotten himself killed fighting Piedmon (silly idiot that he was) that nothing would come between them as friends. And that included Sora. So, what was Matt to do?

"Earth to Matt!" Gabumon called, waving his paw in front of Matt's eyes, jerking him out of his reverie.

"Sorry pal." He said sheepishly.

"What's wrong Matt? Are you nervous about tonight's concert?" Gabumon asked.

"No, well, yeah, sort of, not really..." Matt said.

Gabumon blinked at him.

"I'm glad you explained that, it would have been really confusing if you hadn't." He said, and Matt glowered at him.

"Alright, I'm sorry. No, I'm not nervous about the concert itself." He explained.

"So what are you nervous about then?"

Matt tried to ignore his friend, wondering if he should confide in him.

But as he pondered not telling his Digiomn his problem, an image of Sora rose unbidden into his mind, her laugh, her smile, her beautiful eyes and Matt's heart fluttered a little bit. What the hell? Since when was he so sappy? But Sora did make him feel that way...

"Well...Sora's going to be at the concert tonight." Matt said.

Gabumon said nothing, in fact he did nothing, though his eyes had a mischievous spark in them that Matt had never seen before.

"And so will Tai." Matt continued, hoping Gabumon would connect the dots and save him the trouble.

Gabumon nodded gravely.

"And you like Tai and you're worried he won't be interested in you that way, and that Sora won't want to be your friend anymore after she finds out? It's always the blonds." He said with a sigh.

Matt was just about to nod when he figured out what Gabumon had just said.

"WHAT? NO! No, wrong way round you Digi-dummy! I like _Sora_ and I'm worried _Tai _will hate me after he finds out!"

He barely refrained from grabbing Gabumon's horn and sticking him into the wall, and he only did this when he saw that Gabumon was laughing.

"I know you don't fancy Tai! I was only winding you up. So...you've fallen in love with Sora have you?" he asked cheekily, winking at him.

Matt glared at him.

"Yes, and you can wipe that grin off your face as well. I can't stop thinking about Sora. I want to see her all the time, want to be a couple with her, doing you know, couple stuff with her...I go crazy when I can't see her, I get jealous when Tai and the others see her and I can't, its driving me mad!"

Gabumon looked up at him with surprised eyes.

"Wow, you got it bad." He said in awe.

Matt looked down at his companion in surprise, then looked at him curiously.

"Yeah, but you don't seem particularly surprised that I fancy Sora." He commented.

Gabumon shrugged, waving his hand airily.

"Please Matt. We're your partners. We did figure that at least a tiny bit of you and Tai's posturing against each other was for Sora's benefit. Besides, we always knew you'd all end up trying to get into each other's knickers." He said bluntly.

Matt started and his jaw opened in surprise at what his friend had said.

"Excuse me?" he demanded incredulously.

Gabumon blushed slightly.

"Well it was quite obvious really...you or Tai would go after Sora, Joe would go after Mimi and TK would wind up with Kari..."

Matt scoffed.

"Not if he doesn't get his finger out he won't." He said grumpily.

It was clear to everyone of them but the two in question that TK and Kari were clearly in love with each other, perhaps even made for each other. But neither of them was willing to do anything about that fact and both seemed to be just friends. Matt tirelessly wound TK up about Kari, and enjoyed seeing his brother blush when his 'nonexistent' feelings for her were mentioned. But really, if he would just get a move on and ask her out he could at least be spared some of his brother's teasing.

"Anyway back to the problem in hand...you. Why don't you just ask Sora out? You're obviously in love with her, so why not act on it?" he asked.

Matt sighed.

"It's not asking Sora out that's the problem. Well it sort of is, but not the main one." Matt elaborated, and all he got from Gabumon was a look of confusion.

"Well why don't we start with the main problem?" Gabumon asked.

"Tai." Matt said hopelessly.

"He loves you and you don't want to hurt his feelings?" Gabumon asked with a wicked grin.

"NO! None of us are gay! Well Davis and Ken maybe but... anyway, none of the originals are! You said yourself, Tai was always trying to attract Sora's attention. He seriously likes her, believe me. You see him staring at her and he sort of zones out when he's doing it... look Gabumon, that's the main problem. I like Sora, like her a lot, maybe even love her...but Tai likes her that way too."

Realisation came into Gabumon's eyes.

"And you're worried if you act on your feelings for Sora, you'll be hurting Tai and potentially lose his friendship." He concluded and gathered from the grim look on his friend's face that he was right.

Matt looked out the window at the dark night sky. He was in love with Sora. But Tai was his best friend. Which did he choose? The girl he was in love with or the best friend he ever had?

On the one hand, he had Tai. The best friend he had ever had. After leaving the Digital World they had fixed their relationship and had become the best of friends. Tai always supported him with his band, helped him with whatever brother issues he had with TK, had asked Matt to go along with him to protect Agumon from Ken's predations, and the two of them understood each other in ways others couldn't imagine, and they had promised nothing would ever come between their friendship.

But on the other hand there was Sora. The beautiful girl he had always liked, the one who had been there for him, the same way he had been there for her. The one who had always encouraged him, understood his need for solitude and had left him alone when he needed it. The one who had helped him with TK, the beautiful girl who drove him mad dreaming of her every night, but not knowing where he stood...the one who he would gladly ask out, hoping to hell she would say yes, if only it wouldn't affect his relationship with Tai.

So what did he choose?

Snarling, he figured it came down to their crests. Which one did he choose? His own crest of friendship, or her crest of love? Why the hell did he have to be given the crest of friendship anyway? He wanted to be with Sora, but he didn't want to hurt Tai. And how could he be with Sora without hurting Tai?

"What do I do Gabumon?"

"Well before we get to that, what was your other problem?" Gabumon asked.

Matt sighed.

"Well even if I do ask Sora out, what's to say she won't want to be with Tai anyway? And if I do ask her out..." he said, before clamming up again.

"Matt?" Gabumon prodded gently.

Matt looked down at Gabumon. While he had had some wonderful dreams of him and Sora, he'd also had a secret fear running through them.

"What if she doesn't think I'm good enough for her?" he asked in a small voice.

Gabumon couldn't believe his ears. The only thing Matt had never been totally confident about was making friends and being a brother to TK. But he supposed both of them were related to love so he supposed he could see why Matt was worried.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Matt looked down, and Gabumon wondered if he was seeing the downside of Matt's fame.

"Well, I have all these screaming girl fans, some of them who throw things that shouldn't even be worn they're so flimsy...what if Sora thinks I'm just playing with her like any rock star would?" Matt asked darkly, crossing his arms and looking out of the window.

Gabumon patted Matt's arm.

"Look Matt...Sora has known you for years. One, you're not that sort of person and never will be. Two, she _knows_ you're not that sort of person. Three, she knows you would never be seriously interested in one of those girls. And as to not being good enough for her, you certainly are. You two have a solid friendship, have shared many adventures together and you could never be more interested in a girl like your fans than you are in her. And as for the Tai thing and her wanting to date him, although I may be slightly biased...you are a better catch than he is anyway!" Gabumon said brightly, and Matt felt his lips form a smile.

"Thanks Gabumon. But that doesn't answer my question though. Do I risk my friendship with Tai and ask her out? And even if I do, and she says no, won't that affect my relationship with her? This is very confusing." Matt grumbled in defeat, sitting down and looking at his friend.

Gabumon sighed.

"I cannot advise you on that Matt. For that, you must make your own decision. But...whatever happens I know you will make the right decision."

Matt sighed. The last time Gabumon had trusted him to do that, he had wound up fighting Tai. He hoped that didn't happen this time.

XX

Matt was a bag of nerves as they prepared for the concert. His band mates were too busy with their own nerves to notice that Matt's were worst than anyone. He looked down at one of the songs they were to sing tonight. One song was dedicated to Tai (not that his band members knew that), telling him of how great a friend he was. The other was about a girl, which Matt had written months ago about Sora, telling how he was in love with her, but as that was so much like some of their other songs that they didn't question it.

Matt sighed. Gabumon was in back and he just kept encouraging him to follow his heart. And he so wanted to. But he didn't want to risk losing Tai and Sora's friendship in the process. What did he do? Did he step back and not risk anything and hope that Tai eventually got his finger out and asked Sora out? Or did he ask her out himself, denying her the chance to be with Tai, who he knew liked her, and hope she said yes?

_See, this is why Sora has the crest of love_, he thought bitterly to himself, _because she can figure out this sort of thing. Because I can't._

Matt sighed as he checked the amp for his guitar. What was he going to do? Which did he want more? Tai? Or Sora?

In his heart he knew the answer was obvious, and made a decision on the final song for tonight. He just hoped Tai would understand.

XX

"Wow, this is so exciting! People are already lining up for Matt's concert!" Sora said in shock.

There were hundreds of people all gathering outside in preparation for concert, even people from the TV station, but Sora wasn't fooled by them. She knew Matt's dad had sent them to keep an eye on his son, and TK too, if he would be here, but as he was going to a Christmas party at Ken's house he wouldn't be.

Sora looked around at all the girls, most of them crying Matt's name, and her stomach collapsed in on itself. Why would Matt give her a second glance among all these girls? Some of them were a lot more beautiful than she could ever be. But then again, did any of them really know Matt? No, they were just interested in him as a star and because he was good looking, not because they had any genuine feelings for him...in other words not like her.

"Don't worry Sora," Biyomon said, bringing Sora out of her thought bubble, "we're bound to get good seats. Especially after you give him these homemade cookies!" she said brightly.

"Yeah I hope." Sora said uncertainly.

Sora looked down at Biyomon. She hadn't particularly wanted to bring Biyomon to this part...yeah she was all for her friend coming to the concert, and she was the best Christmas present ever. But considering they had been a lot younger when they had first went to the Digital World, they hadn't had the problems of teenage romance back then, so she wasn't quite sure how much the Digimon would gossip amongst themselves. And it was a well known fact that Gatomon would let anything slip in exchange for a tin of tuna.

And there was also the fact that a walking, talking pink bird, who may or may not be recognised as one of the ones that fought against Myotismon four years ago, wasn't very conspicuous.

Sora was standing outside the door to the stage, her heart thudding in her chest. This was it. Where she would tell Matt that she had feelings for him. The questions and debate raging around in her head wouldn't stop. Did she just come right out and tell him? What was she to do? And when she finally managed to articulate that, what did she do if he said no?

With these thoughts whirling around her head, she didn't notice the other person until it was too late.

XX

Gabumon watched Matt as he talked with his band members before the show, getting ready. It was still a while off, but Matt seemed even more nervous. Perhaps he had decided who to choose, Tai or Sora. Personally, while Gabumon knew it might cause some friction between them if Matt and Sora started going out, he knew eventually Tai would just be happy that his two friends were together. And as Matt seemed to be in love with Sora, all he could do now was hope that Matt had the courage to speak up and then hope for the best.

As he was pondering Matt's love life, a very tantalising smell caught his nose and he headed down to the stage door to see what it was.

XX

"Sora, wait up!" Tai called and Sora started, and as she turned to see her friend, she blushed.

"Oh, Tai..." she said in surprise, then tried to hide the box of cookies from him.

Well wasn't this just perfect? Here she was working up her courage to go and tell Matt she liked him, and the guy who they knew liked her was now coming up to talk to her? She prayed to whatever god watched over such things that he wasn't about to ask her out.

"Something smells good!" Agumon said brightly.

Sora looked worriedly at Biyomon, but she was spared the necessity of responding to that comment by the door opening, revealing Gabumon.

Gabumon covered his surprise well and if he could describe the scene he could only really use one word: _awkward_.

Sora, by the looks of things, was trying to come in, and Gabumon could smell how delicious her cookies were just from standing there. However, to add to her complications, Tai and Agumon had just shown up. Gabumon supposed he had better save her, and hoped that she was here for Matt and not just to tell him she was about to start going out with Tai.

"Matt's getting ready, but I'll take those to him." He offered helpfully, because while he did want Matt to tell Sora how he felt about her, maybe now wasn't the best time. And besides, how was Matt to know how many cookies were in the box in case one or two disappeared?

"I bet you will, no way, you'll eat the whole thing yourself!" Biyomon refused.

Dang that little pink bird and her big beak. She was onto him. Time to act the aggrieved victim.

"Hey, I resent that, I'm on a diet!" he protested, lying on the spot.

While Sora did look convinced, he could tell that Biyomon was as close to being convinced as he was to spontaneously turning into Palmon.

Before Biyomon could detract him on this little lie of his however, Tai spoke.

""So, um, Sora, are you going to the concert with anybody? I mean, not that it matters to me! I'm just wondering." Tai said.

Sora looked at Tai in shock. While he wasn't actually doing the deed of asking her out, it was clear that he wanted her to say that she wasn't going with anyone and ask to go with him. But she was here for Matt. It may not work, and he might not even be interested, but hers was the crest of love and she had to follow where her heart was leading her.

And that wasn't towards Tai.

So, feeling ridden with guilt, and heartily wishing the Devimon weren't there to see what she was about to do, she turned and looked at Tai apologetically, but also firmly, so that he knew this was nothing to do with Matt and was all down to her.

"No, I want to be available in case Matt is free afterwards." She said, shuffling her feet and giving a nervous giggle.

The three Digimon looked at each other. Agumon's face was one of surprise. He probably didn't know that Tai had feelings for Sora, and if he did he was probably shocked that she didn't return them. Biyomon was looking up at Sora encouragingly, as her partner was blushing furiously. And meanwhile, Gabumon was suppressing an urge to cheer. Sora liked Matt too? This made everything so much easier!

Well it would...dependent on Tai's reaction. Tai was Matt's best friend, and Matt didn't want any girl, not even Sora, coming between them. To Gabumon, that was the mark of a true friend: being prepared to risk his possible happiness to maybe give a friend a chance at the same thing. Gabumon then looked at Tai to see his reaction, while Sora blushed furiously.

Tai certainly looked shocked, his mouth was hanging slightly open. The three Digimon exchanged worried looks when Tai finally got his mouth working again.

"Oh, I see, Matt huh?" he asked, and Sora looked uncertain as to how she should deal with this.

Tai then walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a sort of half hearted grin.

"It's ok." He said firmly, looking into her eyes.

Sora looked at him sadly, worried he was upset and just not wanting to admit it, and looked surprised as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"You're not mad at me Tai?" she asked uncertainly.

Tai's face looked at ease, but Gabumon could tell he was covering up a lot of hurt. After all, like Matt had said, Tai had always liked Sora. And now here she was, interested in his best friend.

"No, of course not...now get in there and say hi to Matt for me." He encouraged her, shoving her towards Gabumon.

Sora turned and gave him a small shrug.

"Thanks Tai." She said, and all she got was a smile in return.

"The least you could do is leave us the cookies!" Agumon protested, and Gabumon rolled his eyes as Biyomon headed towards them.

Sora turned, still blushing slightly, and gave them a slightly sad smile.

"Tell you what, I'll make a special batch just for you." She said softly, then followed Gabumon and Biyomon indoors.

Gabumon waved, just as Tai looked at Sora, as if willing her to turn back, but the sad smile on his face let Gabumon know he knew it wasn't going to happen, and then he closed the door.

XX

Matt nodded as he looked around the stage. As far as the concert went, everything was ready to go, and they would be starting off soon.

However, there was still Sora. What was he going to say to her? For someone who spent all his time acting cool, this shouldn't be nearly so difficult. And more to the point, what would he do if she said no? If she said no...well what would Tai do if their situations were reversed? Would he accept it? Matt sighed. If she turned him down because she wanted to be with Tai, yeah, it would hurt him, but he had Gabumon here if only for a while. He could talk to him. And there were benefits to having a brother like TK, who he could actually talk to about this sort of thing, because if he started teasing him about it, Matt could easily switch it back onto him. Not that TK would tease anyway.

Matt was so preoccupied with thoughts of Sora that he didn't know where he was going, and the next thing he knew he collided into something that hit him in the stomach, earning a yelp from whatever he had hit.

"Matt!" Gabumon scolded, struggling to pick himself up off the floor.

"Oh sorry Gabumon! I was in another world." He said sheepishly, helping Gabumon back to his feet.

Gabumon grinned evilly.

"Well that other world is in the office waiting for you." He said mysteriously.

"Come on Gabumon, let's go and find Tai and the others." Biyomon ordered, and waved at Matt before leading on.

"Good luck for tonight Matt! I'm looking forward to it! You'll be fine!" Gabumon said, not getting the hint that he was to follow Biyomon, until a pink wing wrapped around his wrist and dragged him away.

Matt looked at his partner in confusion, and then it occurred to him that Biyomon should be with Sora, so what was she doing here? Unless that was meant by Gabumon's comment. Heart beating rather fast, he hesitantly put his hand on the door and opened it.

Sitting on the table, looking as gorgeous as ever, was Sora.

"Hi Matt." She said, bringing a blush to her cheeks that made Matt stop dead.

_Wow, she's beautiful when she's embarrassed_, he thought, before shaking the thought out of his head.

But what was she doing here? Could it be possible that she was actually here for him?

"Hey Sora...what's up?" he asked, hoping that she would answer he wanted to hear, and he looked at her uncertainly.

Sora smiled at him. He looked cute when he was unsure. So, taking a deep breath, her heart hammering away as if trying to escape her ribcage, the box of cookies behind her getting a crease from where she was holding them so tight, she did it.

"I...was just wondering if you...if you were free after the concert?" she asked hopefully.

_WHAT_? She was asking him out?

"Sora...are you asking me out?" he asked in shock, and the blush that made her cheeks go scarlet made Matt's breath catch in his throat.

"Well...if you want to, if you don't it's fine..." she said softly, not meeting his eyes.

Matt smiled at her, walking over to her and then gently tilted her head up to look into her chocolate eyes that he loved so much.

"I'd love to." He said happily, and the smile that lit up her face took his breath back.

"Really?" she asked happily.

Matt grinned and took her hand hesitantly. When she didn't pull away he held it firmly but gently.

"Yeah...I've been wanting to ask you out for a while but..." he said, then realised he might have said too much.

Sora smiled sadly and squeezed his hand.

"But you were worried about what Tai would think?" she asked shrewdly.

Matt was surprised. Did she know that Tai liked her too then? Oh...

"Don't worry. He told me to come in here and talk to you when I was dithering around outside." She admitted, blushing and not meeting his eyes.

Matt was shocked. Tai liked Sora, they all knew that. And here he was, giving Matt a chance with her. Wow. _I owe you one Tai, probably a lot more than one actually_, he thought to himself.

"I'm glad you did." He said, and she smiled at him and he sat down beside her, wondering whether or not he should kiss her.

Sora actually wanted to go out with him and had turned down Tai in order to do so. Since when had he become so lucky?

"Here, I made these for you!" she said brightly, handing him a slightly dented cookie box.

"Aw, Sora, you didn't have to do that..." he said playfully poking her in the shoulder.

She grinned and poked him back.

"I know, but I wanted to. And besides, Biyomon liked licking the bowl." She said with an amused look on her face.

Matt passed one to Sora and then ate one himself, enjoying the taste. While he knew she would deny it, she did actually quite like to bake. And besides, her cookies were very tasty, light and sweet, with very large chocolate chips in them.

Just as he was chewing his last one, watching Sora look for her last one with a beautiful smile on her face, a large horn signalling for the band to get on stage blared and Matt choked and coughed at the same time, resulting in him struggling for air.

"Matt, you alright?" she asked in surprise and Matt eventually cleared his throat.

"Yeah...thanks...it gave me a fright..." he said weakly, still coughing a little.

He then looked at Sora, and wondered whether or not he should just sneak off with her now. But no, he wouldn't do that to his friends. No matter how much he might have wanted to.

"Make sure you get a good seat." He said, and kissed her on the cheek, making her blush furiously as she looked up at him in surprise.

"Bye." She said, raising a hand to her face and grinning as he disappeared through the door, clearly with a new spring in his step.

Smiling, and wondering what they would do after the concert, she set out to find Biyomon and the others.

XX

The concert was going well, Matt had just finished 'I Turn Around' and was about to start the song dedicated to Tai when the back of the atrium collapsed in, and revealed a very irate DarkTyrannomon and dozens of Bakemon.

Matt cried out in shock, and while his band scarpered for the side lines, Matt vaulted off of the stage, trying desperately to find Tai and the others, and preferably Gabumon, so his friend could teach these Digimon some manners old school style.

People streamed from the atrium, screaming in fright and terror, while DarkTyrannomon made matters worse by thrashing around and dislodging even more rubble. He then saw Joe carrying Gomamon towards one exit, and panic filled him as DarkTyrannomon burled around, trying to swipe an attacking Tentomon from the air with his tail. DarkTyrannomon threw his head back, and Matt suddenly had a bad feeling about what the large Digimon was about to do.

"Fire Blast!" he roared, and Tentomon gave a cry of shock and quickly got out of the way as DarkTyrannomon collapsed most of the roof.

Matt looked around urgently, and then saw Sora, standing and recoiling in fear and dashed towards her, bringing her safely into his arms as he reached her.

"Matt! Where did you come from?" she asked in panic, just before he tackled her to the ground to avoid DarkTyrannomon's tail.

Despite being on the ground and under attack by a rampaging Digimon, he grinned.

"Sorry this is a little forward." He said, and she laughed a little, then winced as DarkTyrannomon took out a wall.

"Come on, we should go before we get crushed." She said, though she secretly quite liked where Matt was lying, and wondered if there was rubble digging into her leg or something else, bringing a smile to her lips.

Matt nodded, and was about to move, when he decided to kiss her on the lips. It was small, fleeting, but the very feel of it revitalised Sora, like a surge of electricity passing through her. His lips left hers as soon as they had arrived there, but the electric current that shot through her body warmed her up, and she smiled back at him as he pulled her to her feet and they ran out, feeling lighter than air and ducking as DarkTyrannomon crippled another wall.

XX

As they got outside, earning them relieved but reproving looks from Biyomon and Gabumon, they turned just in time to see DarkTyrannomon wipe away the rest of the atrium and roar down at them all.

The injustice of it all, greatly tempered by his first kiss with Sora (though he wasn't about to tell the others that) made him glare up at the large black dinosaur.

"Hey, you ruined my concert!" he yelled angrily, and saw Sora grin slightly, reducing his anger at the Digimon just a little bit.

"Matt, glad to see you're focused." Tai said grumpily, but Matt knew his friend was feeling the same thing, very deep down somewhere.

The control spire was the problem. If their Digimon could digivolve, they could easily kick some butt, and show the new kids how they did things, but as it was they were stuck. He looked down at Gabumon and could see his wolf friend wanting to leap in against the large Digimon and its Bakemon counterparts, but until the spire was gone they could do nothing.

And then, the others appeared right on cue.

"Thunder Blast!"

Matt turned to see Raidramon and Digmon leaping into the enclosure.

"Rock Cracking!"

The two attacks from the armour Digimon toppled the spire to the ground.

"That's more like it!" Gabumon said in delight as Stingmon appeared.

"Let's do it, old school style." Tai said, turning to Agumon, who nodded firmly, a fierce look in his eye.

"Agumon digivolve to...Greymon!"

Matt, Sora, Izzy and Joe then turned to their own Digimon, wanting to fight these dangerous Digimon (and also show Davis and his crowd how things were really done).

"Everyone," Matt called.

"Digivolve!" Sora finished, and the two of them locked eyes for a second and grinned at each other.

"Right now!" Izzy continued.

"Hurry!" Joe urged.

"Gabumon digivolve to...Garurumon!"

"Biyomon digivolve to...Birdramon!"

"Tentomon digivolve to...Kabuterimon!"

"Gomamon digivolve to...Ikkakumon!"

"Nova Blast!"

Greymon fired at DarkTyrannomon, who mostly held off the attack. While he fought DarkTyrannomon, Birdramon took to the air.

"Meteor Wing!"

Her attack missed Megadramon, who proceeded to gloat as such.

Kabuterimon and Garurumon launched themselves at Kuwagamon, beginning to subdue him while Digmon fought Snimon. However, there were plenty other Digimon where they had come from. Monzaemon sent Raidramon sprawling, while Ikkakumon was confronted by Phantomon, Bakemon and Numemon.

"They're all over the place!" Matt said in surprise, standing beside Tai, who had his fists balled in frustration.

"Yeah, they've got us outnumbered." Tai admitted, and Matt exchanged a worried glance with him. If even he was admitting they were in trouble...

If only their Digimon could digivolve to Ultimate. Matt had no doubt that the combined force of MetalGreymon, WereGarurumon, Garudamon, MegaKabuterimon, Zudomon, MagnaAngemon and Angewomon (provided Gatomon could digivolve without her tail ring) would be more than enough to send all of these clowns packing.

"Wait, I have an idea! Get all the evil Digimon together in one place!" Joe yelled, and Matt had to admit there did seem method to that madness.

"We're going to send them back to the Digital World." Izzy finished, and Sora nodded fiercely.

"I know what to do." Yolei said, then she looked up to locate her partner, who was swooping down to aid Ikkakumon.

"Halsemon!"

"At your service. Tempest Wing!"

His attack knocked several of the Digimon for six, allowing Nefertimon and Pegasusmon to swoop down on them from above.

"Ready partner?" Nefertimon asked.

"You reckon TK and Kari will ever figure out why they're Digimon are the only ones with a shard attack?" Tai whispered to Matt.

Matt snorted. Not if his brother had his way they wouldn't.

"Nah, these new guys aren't as clever as we were anyway." He said with a grin, and Tai laughed.

"Golden Noose!"

The defeated Digimon were bound up in a massive glowing net and the two flying Digimon headed back towards the gang.

"Is your laptop ready Izzy?" Yolei asked as she ran to meet him.

"Ready and able." Izzy responded.

"Then what are we waiting for? Digiport open!" Yolei cried, and the gathered Digimon flashed back to the Digital World.

"That wasn't so hard." Davis said.

"Easy as pie." Tai agreed.

"Oh god...there's two of them, just what we need." Joe said, and Matt laughed, and for once actually had to agree with his friend.

"It's the Digimon that worry me. How did they get here to our world in the first place? Not to mention that control spire." TK said worriedly.

Matt did have to agree with his brother. The Digimon, aside from their own, shouldn't be able to traverse between the two worlds at will. It took Myotismon a massive gate to be able to do it in the first place so what was so special about this lot, especially when they just seemed to be scared, lost Digimon who were lashing out? How did they get here? And as TK said, how the devil did the control spire get here?

Greymon then shouldered DarkTyrannomon and threw him into the digiport, and Matt made a noise of satisfaction as he watched the main culprit vanish.

"What if it's a brand new enemy?" Cody asked in a scared voice.

Izzy, Matt, Sora and Joe all exchanged looks. Compared to some of the Digimon their group had fought, such as Myotismon and the Dark Masters, the new ones had had it relatively easy, and only BlackWarGreymon and Arukenimon and Mummymon had proved any real threat to them. But what if the little kid was right and there was a new enemy plotting behind the scenes? They didn't want a repeat of four years ago.

"Listen up everyone, I'm pretty sure I know who's behind all this. It's got to be Arukenimon." Ken said darkly.

They all turned to look at him while their partners continued to force the Digimon through the digiport.

"You think so?" Tai asked.

"What makes you think she's involved?" Davis demanded.

"Because she's able to move freely between the two worlds."

Wonderful, just what they needed, a Digimon who was able to go back and forth across the worlds at will. That couldn't be good.

Above them, Nefertimon and Birdramon trapped many more of the Digimon under a tarpaulin, and then Ikkakumon, Garurumon and Raidramon forced them back into the digiport. With that, there were only two Digimon left, however both were ultimates, and while Matt was confident they could take one down they might not do so well taking down two.

"Only two Ultimates left. Davis, Ken, would you like to do the honours?" Tai asked, receiving a nod from the two.

The new Digimon went back to their Rookiee forms, aside from Nefertimon, who went back to Gatomon.

"Bet it won't be as cool as Omnimon." Matt said defensively.

"You know, I think we're becoming very set in our thinking that they aren't as good as us." Izzy said with a wry smile.

"Veemon digivolve to...ExVeemon!"

"Hawkmon digivolve to...Aquillamon!"

"Armadillomon digivolve to...Ankylomon!"

"Patamon digivolve to...Angemon!"

Tai looked sceptically at the Champion forms.

"Now let's see what this DNA fuss is about."

After all, the original kids had heard nothing but about how cool DNA digivolution was from Davis, and even Kari and TK had done a little bit in that regard.

"Show him guys!"

"ExVeemon, Stingmon, DNA digivolve to...Paildramon!"

"Aquillamon, Gatomon, DNA digivolve to...Silphymon!"

"Ankylomon, Angemon, DNA digivolve to...Shakkoumon!"

"Cool." Izzy said as the three Digimon leapt at the Megadramon and Monzaemon.

"Static Force!" Silphymon cried, distracting Monzaemon enough that Shakkoumon could grab onto him and throw him into the port, and that was then finished by Paildramon swinging Megadramon around by the tail and throwing him away into the port as well.

"And to all a good night." Yolei said triumphantly, as Izzy shut the computer, the battle over.

Matt looked at Sora and she smiled at him happily. It was good to be doing this again. As Gabumon and Biyomon came back to them, he offered her his hand and smiled. She looked around discreetly, then kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks for saving me." She said sweetly, putting her hand in his.

"Any time." He said with a grin.

"Alright, we did it, all the Digidestined working together! What a team." Davis said happily.

"Guys, if Arukenimon and her Digimon can move between worlds, then we're in trouble." Tai said in concern.

"What do we do?" Matt asked him.

While it would be good to be able to deal with Arukenimon the old fashioned way, they were all restricted in ways they hadn't been before, their Digimon's inability to move beyond Champion not the least of them.

"We might have to fight all over again." Tai concluded, sounding exasperated at the thought.

"Oh no." Sora groaned, and Matt squeezed her hand reassuringly.

Davis then looked at Tai, and had a determined expression on his face.

"Relax! We'll get her." He promised.

Yolei, Ken, Cody, Kari and TK all nodded their assent, and then the others added theirs. But Arukenimon was tomorrows problem. Tonight, their only remaining problem was getting home.

XX

"Thanks for walking me to the train everyone. I guess my party's over. It was short but it was fun." Ken said, smiling at them from the steps of the train station.

They did have to admit, he wasn't that bad now that he wasn't the Digimon Emperor, he actually seemed like a nice enough kid, if a little haunted by what he'd done in the past.

"We had a great time Ken." Davis said.

"Me too, thanks." Ken responded, then climbed the stairs further into the station.

"And we're all going to come over next year!" Davis called after his friend as he vanished from sight.

"Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year." Sora said happily.

"You too." Kari responded, from her customary place at TK's side.

"Oh no, I forgot to kiss Kari under the mistletoe." Davis moaned, and Matt rolled his eyes at TK, and his little brother didn't quite manage to get a look of annoyance at Davis' comment off his face in time to hide it from Matt, who grinned.

"He never quits." Tai lamented.

_Sounds like someone I know_, Matt thought with a smile, looking at his friend.

"Davis, take it from me, you'll never learn about women." Tai advised, and the entire group started to laugh, making Davis look depressed.

XX

After that, they all started to head back home. Tai and Kari left, and Davis looked further put out when he didn't get to kiss Kari, because no matter what, every time he tried to get close, Tai mysteriously seemed to get in his way. However, Kari did let TK hug her, bringing a smile to his face.

Tai then hugged Sora, then wrapped Matt in a backslapping hug.

"Look after her, ok buddy?" he asked uncertainly.

Matt returned the hug.

"I will. Thanks for this Tai. You're the best." He said quietly, and they pulled apart, and then Matt shoved him in the shoulder.

"But if you repeat that to anyone I'll deny all responsibility. I've got a reputation to uphold."

"Sure you do." Tai said with a smile and headed home with Kari, Agumon and Salamon.

Davis then left, following Izzy and Tentomon, and then Joe and Gomamon clambered in a cab. Leaving TK, Yolei and Cody to head home together.

"Merry Christmas little brother." Matt said, hugging him.

"Merry Christmas big brother." TK said, smiling as his brother hugged him.

And as the three left, Matt feeling the familiar pang of regret that yet again he couldn't spend Christmas with his little brother, he felt a warm hand on his back.

"Walk me home?" Sora asked hopefully.

"Course." Matt said with a smile and took her hand.

XX

They made the long walk back to Sora's apartment, not far from Matt's own apartment, just as the snow was falling. The entire the trip, Matt and Sora talked and laughed like never before, and Biyomon was smiling at the two of them proudly.

"Um, Matt, about when we were in the atrium and it was collapsing around us..." Sora said hesitantly, and Matt blushed.

"What about it?" he asked, trying to look cool but not quite succeeding and only managing to look confused.

"Well when you were lying on top of me..." she said leadingly with a wicked grin.

"Um..." Matt said, going scarlet, and Sora laughed.

"Relax, I'm only teasing you. But that aside, you did something else when you were lying on top of me." She said, coming closer to him.

"Oh yeah?" Matt asked, excitement rising in him as she pressed closer.

"You kissed me. I was wondering if you were interested in doing that again?" she asked hopefully.

Gabumon and Biyomon rolled their eyes at each other and turned away, commenting on the traffic. Matt then wrapped one arm around her waist and raised the other to stroke through her hair as the snow began to fall, and he then pressed his lips against hers.

Unlike their first kiss, this one was longer, more drawn out, more passionate. The feeling of electricity the two of them has experienced flashed through the two of them, warming them both up. Sora pressed against him harder in response and he kissed her more fiercely, her own hand running through his long blond hair while he held her close and they kissed deeply. Matt's tongue then gently opened her mouth and pressed in hesitantly, to which Sora responded by using her tongue and entering it into his mouth. All too soon the two of them had to break off for air.

"Wow." He said, grinning at her and nuzzling her forehead.

"Yeah, wow." She said breathlessly.

"Good night Sora." He said, and gave her another fleeting kiss on the lips.

"Good night Matt." She said and kissed him back.

She then beckoned to Biyomon and her partner followed her inside, a smug look in her eye.

"Merry Christmas Sora." Matt said with a smile.

"Merry Christmas Matt." She responded and blew him a kiss before heading into her building.

Gabumon then sidled up to him, a grin on his face.

"Walk me home now?" he asked, and Matt grinned.

"Yeah I suppose so. Thanks Gabumon. For everything." He said, patting his friends shoulder.

"You're welcome Matt. You two are sweet together...so, what did Sora originally bring up the concert for?" he asked innocently, though the look on Gabumon's eye made it clear that he had nothing innocent on his mind.

"Never you mind. Never you mind." He said, playfully shoving his partner, his mind already drifting to the beautiful girl high above them.

They walked in silence, and just before they turned the corner, Matt looked back at Sora's apartment and saw her standing out on her balcony. She waved at him, and he waved back, earning him another blown kiss.

Matt was just about to consider standing there to see if he could wait her out when a furry arm grabbed him in exasperation.

"Oh come on Romeo." Gabumon grumbled and dragged him away.

_Friendship and Love, getting together at Christmas. How apt_, Gabumon thought, then saw that Matt's mind was away somewhere, most likely back round the corner and on the twelfth floor of an apartment building with his girlfriend.

Gabumon smiled and shook his head in amusement, pondering the nights events between Tai, Matt and Sora. He had heard what Matt had said to his best friend, heard how thankful Matt was to Tai for giving him a chance, and Gabumon was confident that Tai would not try to comer between Matt and Sora. He smiled.

_Friendship and Love indeed. Friendship and Love indeed._

**Hello there!**

**I just fancied doing a little Digimon romance story, and due to it nearly being Christmas I figured an expansion of the episode where Matt and Sora get together would be perfect! I'm also considering doing other little Digimon fics to tie in with my main ones!**

**Which, the next chapter of should be up soon, I've just got to deal with a last few events and then that will be uploaded, so stay tuned for that!**

**I'm considering this as a sort of prequel to Adventure 03, my first Digimon story, just an expansion on whats already been established in the show. So hope you enjoy, stay tuned for the next installment of Adventure 07, and please read and review!**


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